Improvement in horse hay-rakes



J. D. TRACY.

. HORSE HAY-RAKES. No. 194,483. Patented Aug. 21,1877,

'5 (i IBIII UNITED I STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

JOHN D. TRACY, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAY-RAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 194,483, dated August21, 1877; application filed March 9, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN D. TRACY, of

. Sterling, in the county of Whitesides and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Hay-Rake; and I dohereby declare'that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same,

arms and rake-head, by which the draft is applied and kept at the lowestpossible point, for the purpose of giving the operator easy control andmanipulation of the machine, as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed.

In the annexed drawing, which fully illustrates my invention, Figure 1is a plan View of a hay-rake embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is asection of the same on line as as, Fig. 1.

A represents the rake-head, provided with teeth B B, projecting inopposite directions from the same. The rake-head is held to two parallelconnected arms, G C, by means of the straps a a, in which the rakerevolves, said arms being at their outer ends provided with the handleD.

On the rake-head, between the strap or boxes a a. on opposite sides, aretwo lugs, b b, forming stops against a spring, 01, attached to the arms,for preventing the rake from rotating back ward.

G represents the usual trip, pivoted between the arms 0 G, and restingon the two center teeth at the rear of the rake. This trip is, by apivoted or hinged bar, I, connected with the center of the draft-bar J,said bar I passing forward between the parallel arms 0 O. From each endof the draft-bar J extends a rod, h, the rear end of which is providedwith or bent to form an eye, and connected by a pin or screw, z, to thecenter of the end of the rake-head, said pins or screws turning in theeyes with the rake.

In the operation of the rake the trip G is thrown out by merely raisingthe handles of the rake to a certain height. The drawbarJ, being carriedproportionately high to the rake-head by the draft of the horse, pushesback the trip from the teeth and allows the rake to revolve. Then, bylowering the hands or handles it catches on the next teeth, and is thenready to gather more hay.

S S represent shoes attached to opposite sides of the rake, and onopposite sides of the rake-head, for the rake to ride on over theground.

. By this construction the draft is brought to the lowest possiblepoint, and there is less leverage between the draw-bar and the points ofthe teeth, so that the rake is less liable to revolve by means of theteeth catching or meeting obstructions when drawn over the ground, asthe points of the teeth are but slightly out of the line of draft, thusrendering the work of the operator less laborious, and the bar I, beingcurved, allows it to be pivoted to the draw-bar, and at the same timeallows sufficient space between it and the teeth for the hay to collect.

, Having thus fully described the invention, What is claimed as new, anddesired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

The construction and arrangement, as herein shown and described, of thetripping device and handle, draw-bar and arms, and the curved bar andrake-head, by which the draft is applied and kept at the lowest possiblepoint, for the purpose of giving the operatoran easy control of themachine, as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

JOHN D. TRACY.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL WILSON, JOHN W. PLATT.

